Is it the 'National Day of Pray Our Way Only' now?

UPDATE 12:40 p.m.: The Justice Department announced today it will appeal last week's ruling that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. The appeal would go to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Chicago to review the Wisconsin judge's ruling.

All those Tea Party folks marching under the take-back-our-government banner make me wonder...

Might we soon see believers marching against the self-appointed prayer "bosses?" Their banners might insist that their prayers -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or free-lance spiritual petitions to a higher power or whomever -- matter, too.

The National Day of Prayer coming up makes me think these things. It seems to set holier-than-thou elbows flying as various groups claim "ownership" of the decades old tradition.

Now that Focus on the Family Founder James Dobson and his Women of Faith founder wife Shirley no longer filter access to the official White House observation through their conservative Christian lens (only traditionalists get the microphone), they've moved their event to the streets and co-opted the name, stamping "official site" on the big eagle on the home page.

The idea is to make President Obama signing the actual proclamation of the National Day of Prayer (declared unconstitutional but until the appeal is resolved, he's carrying on) look like an afterthought. They were mighty burned when most media attention went to the signing of an inclusive proclamation last year.

But a letter sent Monday from The Interfaith Alliance and Jews on First urges Obama to once again "explicitly open this day" to believers and "clergy from diverse faith traditions to participate equally and fully -- especially in events held on government property.

We are compelled to make this request because in past years the National Day of Prayer was taken over by a group of religious exclusivists led by Shirley Dobson of Focus on the Family. In past years Mrs. Dobson's group, The National Day of Prayer Task Force has represented itself in a way that led many to believe that they were the government sanctioned National Day of Prayer organizers.

Meanwhile, Rev. Franklin Graham, successor to his dad, evangelist Billy Graham, is the honorary chairman of the National Day of Prayer event May 6 in Washington.

On the BGEA web site, he writes:

No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in praying for our President, all of our elected leaders, and even for this unjust judge and all those who rule from the bench "that God would guide them and give them wisdom."

On Fox & Friends this morning Graham discussed news that broke yesterday that the Army might cut him from a pulpit at the Pentagon for a ceremony that day because people of all faiths, including Islam (which Graham once pronounced as "evil") might be offended by his views. Later Thursday, he was indeed cut from the program.

The NDP Task Force (Shirley Dobson, co-chair) is explicitly about Christian conversion. (Check out the story of why we pray that concludes that God doesn't answer the prayers of folks who don't approach him in the explicitly Christian way.

The National Day of Prayer Task Force's mission is to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.

And the No. 1 item on their list of visions and values is to "Foster unity within the Christian Church."

Somehow, I don't think that's Obama's job, do you?

We already know pretty much everyone, atheists included, prays, lifting their hopes, fears and petitions to their Lord any time or place they choose. No one is dissing prayer here. But setting aside the constitutional argument for the courts, here's my question: Do we actually need a government-sanctioned event?Why?

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About Cathy Lynn Grossman

Cathy Lynn Grossman is too fidgety to meditate. But talking about visions and values, faith and ethics lights her up. Join in at Faith & Reason. More about Cathy.